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01 - FACADES

07.02.2020
ARC 404 - ADVANCED BUILDING TECHNOLOGY
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1. HISTORY & DEFINITION

HISTORY

The word comes from the French foreign loan word façade, which
in turn comes from the Italian facciata, from faccia meaning face,
ultimately from post-classical Latin facia.
Therefore, Facades tend to be the “cover page”of our buildings, and
present much of their intention or “personality” of a project.
Thus, the facade of a building is often one of the most important
aspects from a design standpoint, as it usually sets the tone for
the rest of the building.
This is also very relevant from the Urban perspective, since the public
space is largely influenced by the shape and look of the front the
buildings.
From the engineering perspective, the facade is also of great
importance due to its impact on energy efficiency.
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1. HISTORY & DEFINITION

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1. HISTORY & DEFINITION

Function (construction details)

creates a language
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1. HISTORY & DEFINITION

A continuous skin
What is facade and what is roof?
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1. HISTORY & DEFINITION

Form follows function

(Adolf Loos)
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1. HISTORY & DEFINITION

the fifth facade
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1. HISTORY & DEFINITION

the anti-facade?
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2. TYPOLOGIES

TYPOLOGIES

There are many ways in which we can categorise facades:

by its material, components, interal structure, properties,
behaviour....

The following is just a selection of the most common types of

facade, which can be sub-categorised and even combine.
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2. TYPOLOGIES

TYPOLOGIES OF FACADES

MASONRY & HEAVY FACADES

IN-SITU WALLS
STUD/FRAME SYSTEMS
CURTAIN WALL
SLAT FACADES
PREFABRICATED PANELS
DOUBLE SKIN FACADE
“INTELLIGENT” FACADES
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2. TYPOLOGIES

MASONRY & HEAVY FACADES

They belong to this category:

- STONE
- BRICK
- CONCRETE BLOCKS
- CSEB
- ANY ‘HEAVY LOAD” TYPE OF FACADE (CAPABLE OF LOAD BEARING)
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2. TYPOLOGIES
MASONRY & HEAVY FACADES

- traditional system (one of the most ancient ways of building)

- “slow” construction
- massiveness (high density) = “good” seismic behaviour
(horizontal tiyng elements - binding wire)
- typical of 1 to 7 storey building
- “easy” to build (non skilled labour)
- load bearing / capability to withstand loads from roofs/slabs
- thermal mass
- average/good acoustic insulation
- risks of craks/settlement caused by weight
- diversity in design possibilities (patterns, dimensions, bonding...)
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2. TYPOLOGIES
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2. TYPOLOGIES
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2. TYPOLOGIES

CLASS EXCERSISE (15’)

Draw a typical section of 200mm wide facade wall made out of:
- Brick masonry
- CSEBs
- Stone (dry masonry)
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Beware of:
- waterproofing
- finishes
- seismic reinforcement/s
- expansion joint (underneath the slab)
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2. TYPOLOGIES

IN-SITU WALLS

They belong to this category:

- IN-SITU CONCRETE WALL

- RAMMED EARTH
- ANY OTHER KIND OF WALL MADE OUT OF MATERIAL THAT
REQUIRES FORMWORK
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2. TYPOLOGIES

IN-SITU WALLS

- “slow” construction (curation time 2-12-21days)

- requires formwork (manage timeframe/overlaps)
- massiveness = good seismic behaviour
- required minimum width (~200-300mm)
- typical for retaining walls / underground walls (RC concrete)
- load bearing / capability to withstand loads from roofs/slabs
- thermal mass
- good acoustic insulation (due to thickness)
- possibility of imprinting patterns in formwork
- waterprofing detail required
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2. TYPOLOGIES

CLASS EXCERSISE (15’)

Draw a typical section of a 300mm wide facade wall made out of:
- Reinforced Concrete Retaining wall
- Rammed Earth
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Beware of:
- formwork
- waterproofing
- seismic reinforcement/s
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2. TYPOLOGIES

STUD-FRAME SYSTEMS
They belong to this category:

- Timber frame walls

- Steel/Aluminum frame walls
- Any other frame-based system
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2. TYPOLOGIES

STUD-FRAME SYSTEMS

- Very ancient system

- Light weight
- Fast construction (prefabricated / instructions manual)
- Typical of”quick settlement” cultures (e.g. American House)
- Structural system depends on its frame complexity and shape
- Infill material
- Low thermal mass (requires insulation)
- Flexibility (easy demolitions/
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2. TYPOLOGIES

CLASS EXCERSISE (15’)

Draw a typical section of a 90mm wide facade wall made out of:
- Aluminium frame with ferrocement panels/insulation/gypsum boards

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Beware of:
- waterproofing
- top and bottom of walls
- unions/attachments
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Q/A